Simviation Forum - Virtual Cockpit in GMax

Oct 25^th, 2009 at 11:30pm

BrandonF Offline
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Ok, so I clone the aircraft, get rid of what I don't need in the VC, group the cloned parts, and group the exterior. These groups named 'interior' and 'exterior.' I export and when the model is viewed in FS, I have a problem. Before I make the VC, I place the height in
GMax from the ground where I want the aircraft to touch the ground. When I add the VC, the aircraft is raised several feet off the ground. No matter how much I reposition in GMax, the aircraft won't sit any lower, it just stays put. HELP PLEASE! Sad

Brandon

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Reply #1 - Oct 26^th, 2009 at 3:33am

JakesF14 Offline
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Hmm I will keep an eye on this one - will also do a VC later!

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Reply #2 - Oct 26^th, 2009 at 8:29am

Brett_Henderson Offline
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The only thing that decides how far a model sits above the ground, are the contact points in the aircraft.cfg file (and how they might be offset by this line reference_datum_position ).

Now of course, that's relative to the model's point of origin, which is not something you normally change.. because trying to position a model by moving it in Gmax, would be like a dog chasing its tail.

It sounds like you're modeling for FS9.. so I'll let an FS9 modeler take it from here. I just wanted to reinforce that a model origin needs to be carved in stone.

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Reply #3 - Oct 26^th, 2009 at 7:15pm

BrandonF Offline
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FSX actually. I don't have the Deluxe version. I am using the FS9 SDK for now. I hope to get Deluxe soon. I am exporting the model as one file rather than the FSX way. (interior and exterior two different files)

Brandon

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Reply #4 - Nov 4^th, 2009 at 12:06am

Fr. Bill Offline
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First -and this is important- do not ever "Group" parts in GMax unless you really want a major headache with an "OBED Scaling Matrix Prepended" on all your parts!

Use "Dummy Nodes" named exterior and interior, and Link your parts to them.

1. create a Dummy Node, name it "exterior" and use the Move Tool (right click for the Transform type in dialog) to set the coordinates of the axis to 0,0,0.

2. clone the exterior Dummy Node and name it interior.

3. Now, Link all your outside parts to the exterior node, and all your inside parts to the interior node.

Now you can export properly.

Bill
Gauge Programming - 3d Modeling Eaglesoft Development Group Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600-4GB DDR2 Crucial PC6400-800 GB SATA-ATI Radeon HD2400 Pro 256MB DX10 NOTE: Unless explicitly stated in the post, everything written by my hand is MY opinion. I do NOT speak for any company, real or imagined...

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Reply #5 - Nov 4^th, 2009 at 12:46am

BrandonF Offline
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I tried it and the Exporter won't create two MDL files. And in FS, I see my VC above my exterior. (I moved the VC above so that modifying is easier.

Brandon

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Reply #6 - Nov 4^th, 2009 at 11:10pm

Fr. Bill Offline
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BrandonF wrote on Nov 4^th, 2009 at 12:46am:

I tried it and the Exporter won't create two MDL files. And in FS, I see my VC above my exterior. (I moved the VC above so that modifying is easier.

Brandon

No, the method I mentioned creates ONE MODEL FILE, with both the exterior and interior. In fact, that's the only way MakeMDL.exe works...

Do not move the interior (VC) model! Leave it at the exact position it needs to be with relation to the exterior model.

You do know that you don't HAVE to include all the parts during an export. I normally only export the exterior node and one small part when working on the interior (VC) model...

...that way I don't have anything blocking my view when testing in the sim. Cheesy

Bill
Gauge Programming - 3d Modeling Eaglesoft Development Group Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600-4GB DDR2 Crucial PC6400-800 GB SATA-ATI Radeon HD2400 Pro 256MB DX10 NOTE: Unless explicitly stated in the post, everything written by my hand is MY opinion. I do NOT speak for any company, real or imagined...

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Reply #7 - Nov 4^th, 2009 at 11:40pm

BrandonF Offline
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Even placing the VC in the exact location as the exterior, I still have a problem. The VC is showing up in the exterior. When I view it in the opening screen, I see the glass layered. (I can see that the glass is darker)

Thanks for your help so far. Smiley

PS: I am now using the FSX SDK.

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